The Maine Department of Education is proposing changes to Chapter 101, “Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty,” a Maine Department of Education rule. This letter provides public notice of the proposed changes, a description of them, and information on how to participate in the rulemaking process.
The proposed amendments would do the following:
- Change all references to the Child Development Services (CDS) regional site boards, which no longer exist, throughout the rule;
- Add specific Part C new regulation language regarding evaluation and assessment, transition to an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), qualified personnel for nutrition and vision services, and policies related to public and private insurance;
- Add language about who is responsible for child find procedures and Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) services at the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Governor Baxter School), Education in the Unorganized Territory, Maine School of Science and Mathematics, and charter schools;
- Clarify the change in eligibility in Section VII;
- Revise the FAPE choice provision to reflect the recent State statutory revision of IEP determination;
- Revise the “highly qualified” chart in Section X;
- Add references to the Common Core in the two places that the Maine Learning Results are referenced;
- Modify the case management and caseload language regarding special education teachers;
- Add qualifications for an Assistive Technology Professional and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst; and
- Refine the dispute resolution section to be more reader friendly.
Chapter 101 governs the administration of the child find system for children age birth to 20, the provision of early intervention services to eligible children birth to under age 3 (B-2) with disabilities and their families, and the provision of special education and related services to eligible children age three to 20 with disabilities and their families.
The proposed rule is available online at: www.maine.gov/doe/rule/changes/index.html.
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, requires that The Maine Department of Education provide 30 days of notice of public hearing, and allow 60 days of public participation.
A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room 500 of the Cross State Office Building, 111 Sewall Street, Augusta, Maine.
Written comments may be submitted via email to jaci.holmes@maine.gov or via mail to:
Jaci Holmes, Federal-State Legislative Liaison
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0023
COMMENT DEADLINE: 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012